iDEX - DISC 12 (Defence India Startup Challenge)

The Ministry of Defence's flagship program offers a grant and guaranteed procurement contracts for defence technology solutions, addressing bi-annual problem statements. DISC 12 released 41 problem statements sourced from the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force (5 each), the Indian Coast Guard (4), BEL (4), AFMS (9), and several DPSUs including HAL, BEML, MIDHANI, and BDL, covering challenges as specific as Li-Fi technology for operation theatres and MRI centres, C-UAS bubble protection against GNSS jamming, antiskid tracks for BMP vehicles, and SAR imagery analysis. Because each problem statement is tied to a specific service arm's stated operational need rather than an open-ended pitch, applicants are expected to address the exact technical specification published for their chosen statement, and winners are eligible for a guaranteed procurement order from the sponsoring service on successful prototype validation.